Balboa Capital: 82% of Small Business Owners Expect U.S. Economy to Grow

January 29, 2020, 07:07 AM

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A nationwide survey conducted by Balboa Capital, an online business lender that specializes in small business loans and equipment financing, reveals small business owners had an encouraging 2019 and are feeling optimistic about their companies, and the United States economy.

Fifty-three percent of small business owners reported increased revenues last year, 74 percent said their companies are better off today than they were one year ago, and 82 percent think the economy will experience moderate to strong growth in 2020. The survey was sent to a sample of small business owners in over 75 industries during the first week of January 2020.

“The results show that small business owners are maintaining their optimism in early 2020,” said Kevin Umeda, Manager of Sales Planning and Coordination at Balboa Capital. “It’s no secret that when small business owners feel confident about the United States economy, they are more likely to invest in their operations. The potential for continued growth in the small business sector in 2020 is definitely there, and we are ready to support business owners who need fast, easy access to capital. We recently closed the largest securitization in our company’s history, so we have money to lend.”

Key findings of Balboa Capital’s Q1 2020 small business owner survey include:

80 percent of small business owners think the economy had growth in 2019, and 17 percent think the economy was flat.
53 percent of small business owners reported increased revenues in 2019, 29 percent reported no change in revenues, and 18 percent reported decreased revenues.
74 percent of small business owners think their companies are better off today than they were one year ago.
82 percent of small business owners think the U.S. economy will experience moderate to strong growth in 2020.
58 percent of small business owners expect to increase their capital investment spending in 2020.
41 percent of small business owners plan to hire more employees in 2020.
Among small business owners who need growth capital in the first quarter of 2020, 25 percent will apply for a small business loan, 19 percent will apply for a business line of credit and 13 percent will apply for equipment financing.
The most popular choices of small business owners who need funding in the first quarter of 2020 are banks (42 percent), online lenders (29 percent), and credit unions (21 percent).